Biden hits out at Governors for ‘undermining’ efforts to beat Covid

Joe Biden appeared to call out Florida governor Ron DeSantis and other high-profile Republican leaders who have moved to block vaccine and mask mandates, even as the Delta variant continues to devastate the country.

“Local school officials are trying to keep children safe in a pandemic, while their governor picks fights with them and threatens their salaries... Talking about bullying in schools,” Mr Biden said during remarks on Thursday at the White House.

This comes as a judge in Florida ruled that Mr DeSantis’ orders banning school mask mandates overstepped his authority. Mr DeSantis is appealing the decision.